by Tigris Eden
She could feel the breeze from the entrance of the club and as she scanned the crowd, there in a dark corner off to the right, her gaze fell on a pair of forest green eyes that stared back at her in recognition. She also noticed the woman plastered to his front nuzzling his neck. A lump formed in Jes’ throat and it blossomed weighing painfully on her vocal cords. As if the woman knew, she was being watched she lifted her head slowly and turned to smile directly at her. She had blood on her lips! Were those fangs? The air in her lungs evacuated her body with such force it took her to her knees. She wasn’t cut out for this shit.
Fucking bastard! It was a one-night stand. Compose yourself twit. Weren’t there rules to these things? Did he have to hook up with the next girl so quickly? No honor among sleaze is what it was. She’d wanted to be carefree and experience the wild side of life. And for her troubles, all she got was rejection and pain. Granted it was self-inflicted, as she had no ties to him, but it still hurt like hell. She was so done with this shit! Jes picked herself up and dusted off her jeans. There was a small crowd of men with glowing red eyes heading in her direction. The heat in their glare scared her. All kinds of warning bells went off in her head, but the music was so loud it sounded muffled in her ears. She just needed to get out of here and away from him.
Bells hands dug painfully into her arm causing Jes to flinch at the pain. They continued to move toward the exit and the much needed fresh air. She should have said something to him. Anything! Instead, like an idiot she’d fallen to the floor. How stupid was that? She was made of tougher stock! Her mother always said hope was for fools. What exactly were you hoping? Well, she wasn’t expecting what she got back inside the club. Should she have? Fuck if she knew the rules to one-night stands. Maybe it was just the fact that he seemed so kind and caring to her in the jungle. Maybe she was really that naïve. He fucked your brains out and left you there. How’s that nice?
Tears threatened to make an appearance, but she wasn’t about to cry over him. She’d be damn if she’d acknowledge the betrayal and utter loss felt seeing him with the wannabe vampire.
This island was full of dark secrets and superstitions. Her grandmother had told her Belmopan was the cradle of hell, the gateway for all intent and purposes. She could believe it with the heat here. Obviously, Cyrian capitalized on that myth if the clubs private party tonight was anything to go by. Their eyes had all glowed and the manner in which they were carrying on proved they were enjoying themselves. Bodies writhing, low moans of excitement, and then there was him. With his new one night stand. At least she was promised the time of her life. Jes wished it was her, and trying to pretend otherwise was pointless.
“'I’m ready to go home.” Bells said.
“Me too. Let’s leave this place.”
“Smartest thing we’ve done the entire trip, I’ll pack our stuff when we get back to your parents. You get some rest.” Jes rubbed the outside of her arms to ward off a chill that wasn’t present and they both walked toward the street in silence. Deception was a tricky thing, and could she even call it that? He’d warned her. Told her it was a onetime deal. She sighed as Bells signaled a taxi. Her body wasn’t programmed for one-night stands, certainly not for someone like her.
Chapter 4
(Five years later)
“Morning gentlemen, let’s all take our seats and get right to business. Its late and I need debrief you on the latest intel.” The captain cleared his throat as he watched his men get to their seats. It wasn’t every day his men had a case this monumental. Opening the file, he mentally sighed. There was no photo of the mortal woman, the fact she had extra luggage made this case all the more sensitive.
Captain Dravaggio stood at the front of the room and waited. He adjusted the tie on his suit, but out of frustration, he took the jacket and tie off. Suits were not Dravaggio’s thing. Give him a broad sword, hell a dagger and he’d be happy. This protocol shit was ridiculous. No one said anger management classes weren’t working. Normally he’d be insane with frustration. Instead, he waited patiently for his team to collect themselves so he could begin. As his men took their seats, he took a sip of his coffee and cleared his throat. The warmth of the liquid calmed his nerves. His entire team wasn’t assembled, but what men were present would be enough to get the job done.
“What we have here is simple,” he began. Somewhat. “A bi-racial mortal female, who is very much aware of our kind since her ex-husband sold, and still sells VAB.” Vampire blood AB was lethal and deadly in large doses and was illegal to pedal on the streets by anyone. The fact Marcus, who was assumed mortal himself, was able to get a hold of VAB spoke volumes. What vampire would be willing to become a juice box, just to ramp up a bunch of humans or non-humans for that matter?
All vampires were AB negative. Vampires were born, not infected with some virus or curse. There was no such thing as a bite turning you fangy. That shit only happened in movies. You were born to mortal parents and because of some genetic mutation you just either were or you weren’t a vampire. Most children died within the first six months after puberty. Something the humans couldn’t figure out. They thought it was due to anemia. False. They died because their blood cells were disintegrating at a rapid pace and no new cells where there to replenish their blood. Vampires could eat and drink just as much as the next human. Hell, they could even go out in day light, although they preferred not to. The sun ate away at the health of their red blood cells causing them to have to consume more blood. They didn’t have any special quality to them, and half of the immortal population ignored them all together. The Regs who couldn’t get to a supply of blood in time usually became the Unit’s biggest headache. They’d break into blood banks depleting the blood in mass quantity. Or they went out and killed. But the blood they consumed had to be compatible. There were a lot of hit and miss cases early on. But Regs’ body just like every other creature on the planet learned to survive and adapt. Mutate. Their senses were heightened so they could smell their victims; and they lived longer as the replenished blood kept them in top form. Vlad the Impaler ingested the blood of an immortal with an infected strain of demon blood.
So was born the Vampiri effect. They couldn’t turn humans but they evolved into something a bit better by design, even more than the Regs had. Those suffering from the Vampiri effect were everything Hollywood made them out to be and more. With a few un-truths. They were not affected by holy water or garlic. They had no problems with any type of religious artifacts and could go out in the day light without having to worry about needing more blood. There were only three Royal House castes of Vampiri. If you weren’t affiliated with them, you were just like every other human who walked the streets. You were called a Reg or Regular. To be accepted into their house you had to be special. It was the only way to become part of their gene pool. Something to do with their blood’s negative RH factor, not to mention they could munch on the blood of any human and not suffer adverse reactions. And because of their demon ancestry they had fangs, were Regs did not. Marcus was pedaling the high quality stuff. Someone was taking members of Royal House Deadcrest. Their blood was not only a stimulant but it also held remarkable healing qualities and made mortals feel invincible. The high would last for days, but when it wore off, coming down was deadly. There were some that said it had to do with their demon ancestor from the first strain of infection. Any immortal who partook in the drug, succumbed to what equaled crack in human terms. It was a high they didn’t want to come down from. An immortal addicted was a bad thing. Marcus threatened their way of life. Humans were not supposed to ingrain themselves in the lives of immortals, unless it was consensual. There were rules and Marcus and his band of idiots were breaking them.
Dravaggio knew this had everything to do with the missing vampire cases they’d been working on for the past 18 months, but he needed the human to put the pieces together for them. She could be their only hope. More and more Oliver was becoming a danger to himself and to the team. His daughter was one of the missi
ng vampires. She’d gone missing six months ago, taken while she was out with her friends at a dive that was known to cater to the Royal House members.
“She’s on the run and the details are sketchy, but I need full disclosure on her ex-husband’s drug operation. This woman is the key.” He knew she was the missing link this case needed and he wanted to see it through to the end.
Oliver was the first to raise a question.
“Yes Olly?” Olly was one of the oldest living Regs within a hundred mile radius. His family was the one most affected by the missing vampires. Dagas, leader of House Deadcrest, was a constant thorn in his side, asking questions that Dravaggio was unable to give him answer to. He may have been the Houses leader but he was still a civilian. Oliver was in service to House Deadcrest and Dagas’ brother-in-law. Dagas thought the relationship stretched into the Unit. He was wrong.
“Do you think this has something to do with the missing vampires?” Oliver Deadcrest asked.
“Exactly. And this is why I agreed to offer her aid in exchange for information. There are no photos of her as she has been secluded away from the main population for over five years. Apparently, her ex-husband Marcus Reinhold knew he’d be targeted so he kept a close eye on her. From speaking with her over the phone, she sounds strong and is willing to cooperate with our team to the best of her ability. She’s agreed to come down to the station. She wants to meet the team and I wanted to make sure everyone’s here front and center. The assignment starts tonight.”
The Shadow Unit had been put together as a result of immortals coming out to top government officials of the world. It’d been over twenty years since the first official vampire sighting, and ten years since the entire population of immortals had revealed themselves to the highest officials in the world.
Governments all around agreed the world’s population would go into mass hysteria if they discovered that all things that went bump in the night and roamed during the day were real. The plan was simple: integrate and stay hidden from the world, live amicably in peace among humans and don’t fuck up. Unfortunately, many immortals didn’t like the rules, so the Shadow Unit was put together to police the idiots and maintain order. There was also a mass population of humans that were in the know but not affiliated with the government. They found out in various different ways, and ultimately they didn’t try and capitalize on what they knew. The consequences of outing an immortal were deadly. There were still some immortals out there that felt bowing out of a war with humans was not in their best interest. But for the most part the Shadow Unit put themselves in and around the world in teams of nine. Dravaggio’s team handled two states in the southern part of the United States, Texas and Louisiana.
Up until eighteen months ago they were not only on target, but casualties were at their lowest, until vampires started to go missing from House Deadcrest.
“Agent Stone, I want you to handle this in its entirety and keep me posted.”
Olly was the first to stand and speak against the captain’s decision as did Agent Stone.
“That’s bullshit and you know it Captain,” Olly began. “I should be the front man on this. Besides, Stone’s a wolf what the hell can he accomplish?”
Captain Dravaggio looked over at Olly and then back to Stone.
“Is there something you have to tell us Olly? Something we weren’t aware of when it comes to your kind?” Royal families, although they could go out in the day had certain protocols, which stretched, into the vicinity of his team. He would have preferred Oliver on the case but he was newly integrated into the Royal Family. He and his daughter. It didn’t matter that he’d been a part of the group for over a hundred years. To House Deadcrest, Oliver was a baby at best and still hadn’t taken the blood vows with his wife. Oliver was still considered a Reg by design.
“Sir?”
“House protocol prevents your help in this does it not? Is Dagas still enforcing slave law?” Dravaggio growled.
Olly’s brows arched into his hairline and his face contorted with anger. Dravaggio could see the heat in his eyes when he sat back in his chair and mumbled yes.
“What was that Olly? I couldn’t hear you. Speak up.”
Olly’s eyes flared wide before he closed them and spoke louder so everyone could hear. Not that they needed to but Dravaggio wasn’t going to have his men thinking they could all speak out of turn.
“Yes.” Olly sneered.
“Yes, what?”
“Yes sir.”
Dravaggio began pacing at the front of the room but continued speaking.
“I’m told she has one other family member - her five year old daughter.”
Stone took that moment to curse under his breath, but so did the other men sitting at the table. Dravaggio knew they would disapprove but he didn’t care. The job would get done either way. This woman had information that could help them recover the missing vampires, case closed. Enough said.
“Obviously as all of you have expressed you can see the danger she’s in due to having Marcus’s daughter. Bottom line is he wants the girl back and he wants his ex-wife dead. I’ve checked the assassin boards and there is a five million dollar marker on her head. He’s not fucking around. Marcus Reinhold, we assume is mortal. We have reports that he’s been hospitalized on several occasions when he was a child. We do know his family practices Obeah back in his homeland Belize. I have some contacts in the spirit realm and I’ve made inquiries, but nothing has surfaced yet. We need to know where he’s getting the VAB from. Who’s he supplying? As I said and Olly pointed out, also this could very well have something to do with our missing person’s cases.” It did, but he didn’t say that out loud.
Dravaggio finished his debriefing and walked out the room. He knew Stone wasn’t happy about the assignment, and didn’t care. This was his case and the wolf was going to do the job regardless.
* * * *
This shit was for the birds, hell the shit was for anyone other than him. Why did he get stuck with babysitting duty? All they needed was to get the information from the mortal and drop her and her luggage at a warded safe house. He could get the witches to conjure up a spell that would stop anyone from going anywhere near her or her child. Draven ran a hand over his face and continued walking towards his office. He’d joined the Shadow Unit almost five years ago and never once regretted signing on, but today he seriously thought he needed to rethink his job occupation. Babysitting was not part of his service delivery.
The bastard Marcus had to be mortal. There was no other explanation. His family practicing Obeah was a good a reason as any to learn things humans shouldn’t know. Stone decided he’d talk to his old contact Cyrian. He still ran Odessa’s. Maybe he’d heard of him and could give him inside information.
His stomach hurt at the memories of being in Belize; an experience that was burned into his soul. Burned so bad he still dreamt about her. Another memory not only burned, but caused serious pain to him and his wolf. The same delicate flower eyeing him entangled with a vampire named Chloe. He’d wanted to take that night back a million times over, and never could. Fuck, it was one night, that’s it. But that one night had a lasting impression that followed him from Belize all the way back to the states.
Marcus would be handed over to his government, and then tapped on the ass and sent on his way. Their laws compared to mortal law wasn’t soft by comparison, you fucked up, you died. Most of the time. It was exceedingly rare that second chances were given, and if it was a House matter and the Shadow Unit wasn’t involved, well immortals prayed it never came to that. The Houses had a way of digressing back to a time where their primal instincts ruled their decisions and sometimes death was a far better sentence than what a House decreed. He’d signed up with the Shadow Unit with the intention of doing some good for his kind, not babysitting a mortal with a child. When the teams were put together, they actually policed immortals ensuring that all went well, small crimes were dealt with as it was deemed necessary. The selling of VAB and
other trinkets of concern were considered sacred and punishable by death. Babysitting a human and her child was never once part of their assignments.
The sound of his phone took him from his thoughts and Draven picked up on the second ring.
“Stone.”
“Baby, it’s me. Just wanted you to know I have everything ready for dinner. Steaks extra rare just the way you like them. I’m stopping by the office on my way to my moms, but everything is in the oven waiting for you. Okay?”
“Alright. Thanks, and tell your mother I said hello.”
Melissa. There hadn’t been a mate bond between them but they talked about it constantly. His wolf wouldn’t acknowledge her as his mate, but the two of them decided a while ago that starting the process would be wise. His wolf would follow suit. She was the one for him, whether his wolf bowed to it or not. There’d been plenty of wolves mated without the bond and went on to live long fulfilling lives, and he planned to be one of them with Melissa. It would take a while, years perhaps, but they’d have children of their own.
Stone rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. Impossible! His nostrils flared to take another breath just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Can’t be? That smell. He would never forget that fucking smell as long as he lived. Warm island breeze scented with coconuts and pineapples suffused in vanilla and nutmeg. My island flower. Stone shook his head in finality. It couldn’t be her. It’d been five years since he’d last seen her and buried his cock into heaven. He’d left her in the jungle. Then betrayed himself and her the next moment he got. He hadn’t even gone after her when she left with her friend. He was an asshole that night back at Odessa’s, and it still plagued him.
